


Friends and Maybes

by selfinduced



Series: possession is nine tenths of the law [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 12:11:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17508380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/selfinduced/pseuds/selfinduced
Summary: "Don't be cocky," he forgets the mug and brings his hand back up to brush her jaw under her curls, "You had a good time, too."





	Friends and Maybes

**Author's Note:**

> In honor of Dom and Alisha's adorable onset antics (the grape throwing into mouth thing!? and of course this https://twitter.com/ShadowhuntersTV/status/1087379322661421058) 
> 
> And for Sus, who made all the [jaia gifs I used in this set](https://foshriizzle.tumblr.com/post/182231660269/fic-friends-and-maybes-rating-m-e-theres-sex): https://foshriizzle.tumblr.com/post/182231660269/fic-friends-and-maybes-rating-m-e-theres-sex and reminded me that Jace needs happiness in addition to the angst.

"You really like him," he looks over his drink at Maia, who snaps her gaze away from Simon sitting alone in a corner with his computer and giant headphones Jace has learned means he's "making music" on it somehow. Except he's just staring listlessly out the window more than he's looking at the screen, headphones around his neck, eyes bloodshot.

She doesn't respond except with a tiny movement at the corner of her mouth as she keeps mixing drinks.

"Alright, go on, tonight's a freebie. The doctor is in. Lay it on me."

"Avoiding your own problems by trying to psychoanalyze mine, cute." She crinkles her eyes and tips her head at him.

Jace bites back the need to say he doesn't have any problems, sips at his beer instead. She opens and closes her mouth twice before he starts her off. "So you like him. And he's single. But he's not over Clary."

"Seems to be the thing around here," she shrugs, starting the process of clearing up the bar, letting the waitstaff go. "You should know."

"We're not talking about me right now, remember?" Grins at her.

"Whatever."

"So what's your move?" He reaches behind the bar to pour himself more from the tap since she won't look up at him. "Pine away until he comes around?"

"Feelings are feelings, Jace. You can do your best to go on with life, but there's no point in denying they're there."

"So what, you're gonna tell him?"

"He knows enough, there's no need to tell him more."

"So you're not gonna show up at his place, looking like," waves a hand at her, "that."

"This is how I normally look," she smirks at him.

"I know," he looks her up and down blatantly just to make her roll her eyes, "And I thank God for it every time I see you."

"That's surprisingly cheesy for you, too much to drink?"

"Just blinded by your beauty."

"Fuck off."

He catches and holds her eyes until they both have to look away from the heat, and grins into his drink.

"No I'm not going to just  _show up_ , except as a friend, that's manipulative. He needs time to get himself together. Be ready for someone new."

"So we wait."

"We?"

"I'm keeping you company, providing entertainment." 

She rolls her eyes but throws him a dishtowel.

The bar's been closed for a while now, but Simon has only now seemed to notice, waving apologetically before heading out as fast as he can, thankfully not seeming to notice what has become Jace's habit of hanging out after hours on Maia's nights to close up, sniping at each other while he helps without looking like he is. It's a good way to start his late patrols, and she never comments on the ridiculousness of buying drinks only to iratze the alcohol out of his system within a few hours before starting the hunt. 

 

Jace steps unnecessarily close as he takes a bottle from her, reaching behind her for a stray mug, trapping her a little against the sink--one side open to let her move away, even if she wasn't a wolf fully capable of kicking his ass out of the way, but she's not going anywhere, smirking at him knowingly.

"You can't stay away, can you?" Her smug tone going straight to his dick. 

"Don't be cocky," he forgets the mug and brings his hand back up to brush her jaw under her curls, "You had a good time, too."

"I can have a good time with anyone," she taunts but she's grinning, too, and tipping back her head so their mouths line up.

"I don't see anyone else here right now," he raises an eyebrow, "you want me to go grab Simon?"

She rolls her eyes and kisses the teasing smirk off his mouth, turning them to shove him into the sink, and he goes with it with a victorious laugh, jumping onto the counter to sit and open his legs to let her close, hands brushing on her back under her top light as a feather even as her nails dig like wolf claws into his back, teeth bite bruisingly at his lips until he groans at her, pulls her closer by the hips--small for such a fiercely self-assured person, his hands almost spanning her entire waist, and nuzzles at the burnt sugar smell at her neck--some sort of lotion or shampoo or whatever things girls use to make themselves irresistible.

He lips softly up the column of her throat to breathe over her ear, "So that's a no?"

"I'm actually going to hit you," her hand tightens in his hair, jerking up at his shirt until he moves back enough for her to pull it off him, "I swear to God."

"That could be fun. Should I tell you my safeword?" he presses back in as soon as his shirt's off, kissing up her jaw, breath hitching when her hands brush over his strained zipper, fiddling at his belt buckle.

"You're such a--"

"Yeah?" He tugs her skirt down until it falls off obligingly, fingers slicking along the wet seam of her panties like he's only thinking about it and could pull them away if he tried. His other hand is up under her top, pushing up the edge of it with her bra so they stay above her breasts, exposed for his hand and his face and making them both crazy, cupping them in his palm, rubbing his stubble and the calluses on the pads of his fingers on her nipples the way he's learned makes her writhe trying to get his fingers inside her.

"Jealous little shit, it's not even about us, you just want--" her hands are rough as they pull down at his briefs.

He shudders, breath hitching again, embarrassingly louder at the first touch of her hand on his dick, soft and cool on his heated skin, grip firm right away, no teasing, no artifice, inviting his tongue into her mouth until they both moan and he lifts her onto his lap, sliding her onto him, slick wet heat stretching tight and excruciatingly perfect around him, choking them both off as they rock into each other. She clenches around him tight as she moves up, coaxing, relaxing a little on each deliberate slide back down, surrounding him, owning, and he knows he's whimpering but he doesn't care, there's no need to posture with her. It's a new concept but he's taking to it well so far. He does know better than to just give in right away though, knows he'll get lost and come too fast if he doesn't focus. He bites and sucks at the nipple closest to his mouth as he wraps an arm around her middle, wiggling a hand down between them to rub at her clit with his thumb. Coordination is key. Just focus, focus--

"Fu-uck. _Maia_ ," it comes out as a harsh almost-sob into her shoulder when she licks into his ear and writhes her hips against his at the same time, making his hand falter.

"Did I say you could stop?" her voice is throaty, amused, and when he looks up, her eyes are glowing with a ring of green around the iris, making his cock jerk. She has the audacity to laugh when she feels it.

He narrows his eyes and tightens his arm around her to hold her still, not letting her sink completely down on him, rubbing faster and faster on her clit, arm locking her in place when she tries to twist away, oversensitized. Smirks because not having to use his stele to activate his speed rune has been handy in more than battle so far.

It's her turn to bite her lip and breathe harshly into his temple, calling him every kind of asshole and telling him not to stop at the same time. He slows and speeds up his thumb in time with her threats until they're both soaked in sweat and desperate heat, his balls aching and heavy and almost pained. Her nails rake down his back below his shoulders, breaking skin--he knows already he won't iratze those marks away later, will keep them so she can lick at them self-satisfied the next time they do this--and he feels her clench around him, a warning. He lets out a long, shaky moan of relief as he lets go to wrap both arms around her and move her up and down on him, rough and graceless as they both come for what seems like forever, waves and waves of her spasming around his cock, squeezing more out of him, making him jerk and twitch with aftershocks. Her hands are on his face and in his hair, tugging to angle his head up to share his air more than kiss as they come down from the high.

These are the only moments they don't argue. When his insides are soft and she's careful of them--hands soft right back as they trace his skin, leaving trails of what feels like the light of _adamas_ in their wake, and kisses him like it's not another attempt to fuck each other into submission.

He tries to do it back, the touching without intent, tries to keep his hands as light as hers but not a tease, not catching on the sweat--just--gentle. Holding _. Closeness._

 

She laughs into the side of his face, nuzzling his neck, and he touches up her back, knows from the way she melts bonelessly against him that he's doing it right, whatever it is. 

"What?"

"We're cuddling."

"I wasn't--" he frowns accusingly at her, pretty sure that this is not what he has always thought was the definition of cuddling, and definitely not something Maia would want from _him,_ but, "You started it! I was only doing it back."

"Don't get excited, I'm not saying it's bad, I'm just saying we're naked on the counter behind the bar."

"Exactly. We're _behind_ the bar and you still have a shirt on, sort of so--"

"You don't know how it works," it's not a question as she looks at him in that alarmingly discerning Maia way where she refuses to respect posturing and bluster like a normal person, "Of course you don't. Why would you." 

His ears heat up, ready to get dressed as quickly as possible as soon as she gets off of him, but her eyes don't do the surprised, pitying kindness thing that again, most people--probably Clary--would. She just nods like she accepts it--even though he doesn't know what _it_ really is.

"I know you already patrolled today so you can spend the night if you're too tired to go home," she says instead.

Jace stares after her for a good long second even as they both get dressed before following her out. He doesn't know what it means because it's Maia, not someone who has any illusions about who he is or what they are, but it doesn't sound like a bad idea or even a particularly unusual one.

 

He's never had a friend--never needed anyone besides the Lightwoods--but Maia makes the same kind of sense that Clary, or even Simon did when they met. Unselfish. Honorable. A fighter. Unfailingly loyal. He'd liked Clary for the same reason—she seemed to fit as if she’d always belonged. It had been easy to believe Valentine's lie that she was his sister. Even easier to believe that he couldn’t have her any more than he could Alec. People like him don’t get to have that kind of love—but he has them as family. That’s enough to live and die for.

 

"You coming?" Maia turns after she locks up, and he scrambles to catch up with her.

"Ready when you are," he pulls her into his side and smirks against her cheek, laughing when she puts her hand on his face to shove him off.

 

She doesn't take her hand back though, when he catches it and holds on.

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of a larger Jace/Alec fic that is currently 13 sections that are 2k-10k long in my WIPs folder. Who knows when I'll get around to finishing this monster, so posting this part as a standalone since it's a different pairing anyway.


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